by Anna Siitam
What can the young people do after this event to keep the issue alive? Hans Vindeland from the Swedish Youth Council is keeping the European topic alive in Sweden and is invited to discuss the issue of intercultural dialogue and youth participation further with the British Council.
Hans Vindeland, member of the board and responsible for European issues in the Swedish Youth Council (LSU) was very satisfied with the event since it did not only promote participation of young people but it also concluded with innovative and concrete proposals for the European policy makers. Back in Sweden he is invited to a meeting with the British Council together with governmental institutions and NGO’s to discuss a common European cultural identity from a youth perspective. “I can now tell the British Council how big the issue is for young European citizens”. He emphasizes the importance of networking and dialogue for and with youth.
The Swedish Youth Council is also preparing for next year’s EU presidency and Hans will take a lot of good practises back to Sweden from this event. He stresses the importance of getting young people interested and involved in EU topics and concludes that this event has truly done just that. Important debates have been held and results have followed “even though it is important not to be naïve. We don’t have direct impact on European politics but here we have the window of opportunity and dialogue is the basic condition for that”. He suggest that young leadership is not only important for participation of youth but also to solve conflicts since the international meetings create intercultural dialogue and this leads to understanding and is important for conflict management.
